Third-party sites - are they like a TA?

[Dug720]

I'm considering going ahead and booking for 2017 Feb break with cruises.jetblue.com (right now they have a no deposit deal going, which would allow me to book and lock in my desired cabin rather than waiting for my W-2 to file taxes and waiting for the refund) but have always booked with Disney directly, usually onboard, so I'm not sure how it works with a third-party site. Would it be like booking with a TA where I'd have to do everything through them? Could I book shore excursions on my own when those open up? And I know there is a space online to say I've cruised with Disney before, would they input my CC member number so I'd be getting credit and able to book excursions etc. accordingly? Or should I just wait probably a month to book?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm considering going ahead and booking for 2017 Feb break with cruises.jetblue.com (right now they have a no deposit deal going, which would allow me to book and lock in my desired cabin rather than waiting for my W-2 to file taxes and waiting for the refund) but have always booked with Disney directly, usually onboard, so I'm not sure how it works with a third-party site. Would it be like booking with a TA where I'd have to do everything through them? Could I book shore excursions on my own when those open up? And I know there is a space online to say I've cruised with Disney before, would they input my CC member number so I'd be getting credit and able to book excursions etc. accordingly? Or should I just wait probably a month to book?

It's exactly like a TA. They are your TA. You will need to "go through" them for any reservation/monetary issues and questions. When your excursion/checkin window opens, you can do that yourself.

 

[Dug720]

It's exactly like a TA. They are your TA. You will need to "go through" them for any reservation/monetary issues and questions. When your excursion/checkin window opens, you can do that yourself.

Thanks!

 

[Dug720]

Sigh. Well, that was a bust. The "no deposit" is only up to deposits of $500. Clearly a 7-night Fantasy cruise isn't going to qualify. So fingers crossed my preferred cabins are still available later. :/

 

[cindyzig]

I just booked through a special like that with Priceline a few weeks ago. It was the same promotion, so they subtracted $500 from the deposit I would have had to put down. I had a balance left over that I still had to put down, but it was nice to be able to book our the cabin we wanted as soon as possible. With them, you had to call to get the promotion. I liked that because I generally have questions and really like to do it with a live person rather than completely online. We used Priceline for our last cruise, and everything was smooth throughout. I actually booked my excursions directly on the DCL website once our window opened.

 

[Dug720]

I just booked through a special like that with Priceline a few weeks ago. It was the same promotion, so they subtracted $500 from the deposit I would have had to put down. I had a balance left over that I still had to put down, but it was nice to be able to book our the cabin we wanted as soon as possible. With them, you had to call to get the promotion. I liked that because I generally have questions and really like to do it with a live person rather than completely online. We used Priceline for our last cruise, and everything was smooth throughout. I actually booked my excursions directly on the DCL website once our window opened.

Thanks! I will keep my fingers crossed and hold off - in the process of changing banks, so trying to hold off on putting anything on the old account until the direct deposit is confirmed for the new one (it looks like it is, but just in case...).